The annual lionfish tournament will be held this summer in memory of a pioneer in the fight against the invasive species in Bermuda’s waters.

Graham Maddocks, who led efforts to control, if not locally eradicate, the species that poses a threat to the island’s native and endemic fish populations, will be honoured at the 2025 Heatwave tournament taking place in Dockyard this weekend.

The event is hosted by Blue Water Divers, owned by Chris Gauntlett, in support of the Bermuda Lionfish Task Force, which highlights the threat while collecting lionfish catch and sighting data.

Mr Maddocks, who passed away in February at the age of 58, was previously the owner and operator of Triangle Diving at the Grotto Bay Beach Resort and Spa, and was instrumental in the creation of the Ocean Support Foundation — a driving force in the development and creation of Bermuda’s national lionfish plan, and the inception of the Lionfish Task Force.

All proceeds from Heatwave 2025 will go towards the task force in Mr Maddocks’s memory.

Mr Gauntlett said: “This year’s theme is about remembering an industry leader who was lost too soon.

“Graham was a true legend in his own time. I don’t think we would have had anything close to our level of success in the island’s efforts against lionfish without his early and energetic involvement.

“What we want people to know about the tournament this summer is that you can support it, even if you’re not going to hunt lionfish, as a sponsor or observer.

“So many great tournaments have been organised by different groups over the years. Generally speaking, there’s a winter, spring, summer and fall tournament every year now.”

Mr Maddocks helped the original tournament organiser, Groundswell, whose motto was “Eat ’Em to Beat ’Em”.

With no known predators in local waters, the highly reproductive fish with a voracious appetite — which may have been introduced locally by way of home aquariums — can reduce recruitment of other fish species.

Individual lionfish have been dissected and found to have tens of fish in their stomachs.

According to the task force’s raw tracking data, 2,634 were caught or sighted locally last year, and so far this year there have been 1,107.

The Bermuda Lionfish Task Force was created in 2012 and has since worked to raise public awareness, co-ordinate culling efforts and promote lionfish as a healthy food source to mitigate their negative impact on the island’s coral reefs.

It brought together a coalition of researchers and organisations, including the OSF, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The group received funding from Britain’s Darwin Plus Initiative to support efforts in assessing the lionfish population and developing control tools.

The task force has supported and promoted local culling programmes, including a government permit system that allows residents to spear lionfish on Scuba, without limitation on numbers.

Heatwave 2025 is being hosted this weekend with the support of the task force, Makin’ Waves and weigh-in venue Calico Jack’s in Dockyard along with a list of generous sponsors.

Bermuda’s lionfish cullers will compete for prizes “and bragging rights”, memorialising Mr Maddocks under his preferred dive shop nickname “Red Leader” — a reference to the character in Star Wars.

Jane Vickers, Mr Maddocks’s sister, said he first spotted a lionfish while diving on the wreck of the Cristóbal Colón in early 2000 along with his brother-in-law, Mrs Vickers’s husband, Ken. They were informed by local fish expert Judy Clee that “it must be killed”.

Mrs Vickers said: “The education of the destructive lionfish began. In true Graham fashion, he became extremely passionate about the lionfish and the potential huge destructive impact they would have on Bermuda.

“Graham and Ken trained to use rebreather diving equipment so they could do deep dives to spear them. In 2015, there was a big increase of lionfish in shallow waters and they stepped up to find ways to address the growing concerns.

“James Gibbons, Jim Butterfield and Kirk Kitson were very helpful to OSF, and Graham, who was so passionate about educating Bermuda about the threat of the lionfish.

“Bermuda and the ocean were Graham’s passion, and he wanted to do everything he could to raise awareness and try to protect our ocean life.”

The tournament starts at sunrise on Saturday and culminates with the weigh-in, which takes place on Sunday at 3pm at the Calico Jack’s floating bar in Dockyard near the cruise ship security gate.

Mr Maddocks’s daughter, Catherine, 13, who plans to get her lionfish licence on her next birthday, will be handing out the awards.

• Anyone with a lionfish permit interested in participating can register at Makin’ Waves in Hamilton. Sign-up is also available for observers and sponsors. Donations to the cause, through the charity the Bermuda Zoological Association, can be made via the Bermuda Lionfish Task Force websitewww.lionfish.bm